KEY POINTS
Janie Bradford Hobbs died at a Los Angeles hospital after an extended illness, her family said Saturday.
She co-wrote “Money (That’s What I Want),” one of the songs associated with Motown’s early history.
Her songwriting also contributed to recordings by artists including Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.
Janie Bradford Hobbs, whose work helped shape the early songwriting history of Motown, has died at age 87. Her family said she died at a Los Angeles hospital following an extended illness.
Bradford Hobbs was born in Charleston, Missouri, before eventually moving to Detroit, the city that became central to her career in music. Her path into the emerging Motown scene began through a connection with singer Jackie Wilson, who was her neighbor.
Wilson introduced Bradford Hobbs to Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, in the late 1950s. That introduction placed her in the orbit of a record company that would go on to become one of the most influential forces in American popular music.
Among Bradford Hobbs’ best-known songwriting credits is “Money (That’s What I Want),” which she co-wrote during Motown’s formative years. The song became an important part of the label’s early musical legacy.
Her songwriting work extended beyond that title. Songs associated with Bradford Hobbs were also recorded by major artists including Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, connecting her contributions to several generations of Motown performers.
Bradford Hobbs’ career reflects the important role songwriters played behind the scenes during Motown’s rise. While singers and performers often became the public faces of the label, writers such as Bradford Hobbs helped create the material that defined its sound and reached audiences through some of the era’s biggest recording artists.
Her death marks the loss of a songwriter connected to Motown’s earliest period and to a catalog that reached well beyond a single hit.
Bradford Hobbs’ move from Missouri to Detroit preceded her introduction to Gordy in the late 1950s. Her connection with Wilson provided the link that brought her into contact with Motown’s founder and ultimately into the label’s songwriting world.
